Duchess Taken to Hospital for Birth of Heir to Throne

The Duchess of Cambridge was “admitted this morning in the early stages of labor,” William’s and Kate’s office said in an e-mailed statement, using the title by which she is formally known. Photographer: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Prince William’s wife, Kate, was
admitted to a hospital in London to give birth to the couple’s
first child, who will become third in line to the British
throne.

The Duchess of Cambridge was “admitted this morning in the
early stages of labor,” William’s and Kate’s office said in an
e-mailed statement, using the title by which she is formally
known. No further updates will be given until the baby arrives,
their office has said.

The duchess is in St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington,
central London, where William’s mother, the late Diana, Princess
of Wales, gave birth to the prince and his younger brother,
Prince Harry, in the 1980s.

Ranks of photographers were in position outside the
hospital as the couple arrived by car early today. Some, who had
been in position for weeks outside the hospital’s main entrance,
missed securing the key shot as the royals went in by a private
door.

On the private Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s, which is part of
the state-run National Health Service, prices for maternity care
start at 4,965 pounds ($7,560) a night for a “normal delivery
package,” according to its website.

Three people stand between the baby and the throne; Queen
Elizabeth II, who is 87, her eldest son Charles, the Prince of
Wales, 64, and William, 31.

When she wed William in 2011, Kate Middleton became the
first woman from outside royalty or the aristocracy to marry so
close to the throne for 350 years in a ceremony watched on
television by 2 billion people worldwide.

Helicopter Pilot

After the birth, William will return to work as a military
helicopter pilot after taking the two weeks’ paternity leave to
which British fathers are entitled.

An apartment for the duke and duchess and their new baby is
being readied at Kensington Palace in central London.

William and Kate will observe tradition by announcing the
birth of their baby by having a courtier nail a proclamation to
an easel in the courtyard of Buckingham Palace, the queen’s
central London residence. In keeping with the times, their
office will also post the news on Twitter Inc.’s social
networking site.

If the couple have a daughter, the little girl makes
history because she will keep her place in the line of
succession even if she has a younger brother, after Parliament
modernized the rules earlier this year to give princes and
princesses equality, overturning tradition.